LAS VEGAS – Shane Roller played the roll of spoiler on Saturday night and staved off a possible pink slip while he was at it.

After electing to stand with John Alessio in the first round, Roller used a controlling ground attack in the second and third to pick up a unanimous decision win. Roller kept Alessio from a victory in the 50th fight of his professional career and snapped a three-fight skid to likely save his job.

The preliminary-card bout was part of Saturday’s UFC 148 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on FX prior to the night’s pay-per-view main card.

Despite Roller’s prowess as an All-American Division I wrestler, the fight stayed standing throughout the first. And though Roller appeared to be getting the better of things in the standup game early, Alessio landed late in the first with a right hand, followed by a jab, dropping Roller to the canvas with 10 seconds left. Although Alessio got to the ground looking to do some damage, Roller held on to survive the round.

But in the second, Roller got the fight to the ground. He was able to work for submissions there and latched on to a guillotine. But though Alessio defended it nicely, Roller picked him up for a big slam and looked to continue to control things on the ground.

The third round was more of the same – though Alessio was able to crack Roller with an uppercut early in the frame and put together a nice combination on top of it. But he couldn’t defend Roller’s takedowns, and once Roller was on the canvas, his control was mostly dominant.

Late in the third, with Roller mounted on Alessio’s back, Alessio became so frustrated with being stifled on the ground he began talking to Roller, saying to him, “You wanna ride me?”

Roller said the plan was to make sure to stay out of Alessio’s power on the feet.

“It was a tough fight,” Roller said. “I had to grind it out with him. Wrestling was the game plan, but I have been working on my standup. He has good standup, but you know that’s part of MMA. It’s not a boxing match. He’s heavy-handed and a pretty big guy, and I felt his hands had good power. I approach every fight as a must-win. All my fights are pretty exciting fights.”

Alessio (34-16 MMA, 0-5 UFC) remained winless in the UFC after returning to the promotion this past April. Roller (11-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC), a former WEC lightweight standout, won for the first time since his UFC debut in March 2011. He was a 2-to-1 favorite in the fight.

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